Rise kicks off in Cardiff East

The new territory will be led by co-founder Rob Oyston and new recruit, Matt Davis, who joins the team as business development manager

Rise has opened a new franchise office in Cardiff East.

The company, launched recently by franchising experts, Trevor Brocklebank and Rob Oyston, offers a range of activities for the health and social care sectors based on adapted games, sports and dance for people of all ages. These activities are tailored to a participant’s physical ability or cognitive capacity to bring health and wellbeing benefits.

The new territory will be led by Rob and new recruit, Matt Davis (pictured), who joins the team as business development manager. He was previously a Sports Xtra franchisee in the Bristol and South Wales regions having trained as a sports coach. Matt has also worked for Table Tennis Wales, the national governing body for the sport in Wales.

Matt said: “I’m delighted to have joined the Rise team. There is enormous potential for Rise to give back to the community in and around Cardiff and I’ve already seen first-hand the impact that sports-based activities can have on people of all abilities.”

Matt has recently been delivering Sport Cardiff Community Sessions, funded by Sport Wales’ The Golden Fund, to encourage people living in deprived areas to engage with sports activities. He has also been working with care homes and has witnessed a huge impact.

“One lady was pretty uncommunicative,” he explained. “She took part in a Rise football session and within no time it became obvious that she had a passion for football. It was a real eye-opener for her carers who learnt something they didn’t know about the lady and found a topic she was happy to talk about.

“We also saw a reserved elderly gentleman come out of his shell. He was a rugby player in his youth and came alive then we invited him to take part in our rugby session – by the end, he was sharing his skills and expertise with the other participants.”

Rob said: “The model is ideal for a franchise roll-out as local owners can position themselves as the go-to expert for these enriching activities that bring benefits to both participants, their carers and families too.

“There is such a focus on wellbeing at present and we are seeing a lot of demand for the service.”